Snap-on shoe cleat asembly



Sept. 18, 1962 SNAP-ON SHOE CLEAT ASSEMBLY Filed April 21, 1958 mmmeuw BY fRA'DER/(K 9. Raw

G. E. MORGAN ETAL 3,054,197

United States Fatent ffice 3,054,197 Patented Sept. 18, 1962 3,054,197 SNAP-ON SHOE CLEAT ASSEMBLY Gerard E. Morgan, Glenview, and Frederick A. Rappleyea, Oak Park, Ill., assignors to John T. Riddell, Inc, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed Apr. 21, 1958, Ser. No. 729,840 4 Claims. (Cl. 36-59) This invention relates to a cleat for shoes, particularly to a cleat for athletic shoes which can be removed and replaced conveniently.

Many types of shoes used by athletes and by other persons engaged in activities where slippage of the shoe on the surface trod upon must be prevented are equipped with spikes or cleats secured to the sole of the shoe. Many different kinds of spikes and cleats have been used for this purpose. For certain activities the shoe is generally equipped with sharp metallic spikes secured rigidly and permanently to the sole of the shoe. However, when the activity engaged in is such that the sole of the shoe is likely to come into violent contact with the body of an individual, e.g. in the playing of football, the use of metallic spikes becomes extremely dangerous and is preferably avoided. In such instances the shoe is sometimes provided with a cleat, often of frustro-conical exterior configuration, which is made of hard rubber or of other suitable rigid, non-metallic material which is not so prone to cause injury when it comes into contact with the body of an individual as is the case with metallic spikes. Such hard rubber and other similar rigid types of cleats are secured to the shoe sole with the base of the frustro-conical article in contact with the sole and often have the outer end of the cleat rounded smoothly to reduce further the possibility of injury.

Many means have been employed to secure cleats made of hard rubber and of other suitable hard, non-metallic materials to the soles of shoes. In some instances the cleat is molded around a metal insert which projects from the base of the cleat in the form of an externally threaded stud which is then screwed into an internally threaded fitting or receptacle which extends through the shoe sole. Other cleats have been molded around an internally threaded metal insert which does not project beyond the base of the cleat but which can be threaded onto an externally threaded metal stud projecting from and secured to the sole of the shoe.

Although the use of hard rubber cleats is advantageous for many purposes as compared with metal cleats, they are broken relatively easily during strenuous activity. The breaking away of the hard rubber body of the cleat leaves the metal elements of the securing means exposed in a dangerous manner. Furthermore, the violent contacting of such a hard cleat, even though made of hard rubber and rounded on its outer end, with the body or clothing of an individual is not entirely without danger of bruising, or even of rupturing the skin of, the individual and of tearing the clothing.

A recent development in the cleat art has been the employment of a synthetic resinous composition for the making of the cleat body which is considerably more flexible than is the conventional essentially inflexible hard rubber cleat. Although the degree of flexibility of the cleat body is not great, i.e. the cleat body not being noticeably deformable between the fingers, it is, nevertheless, suflicient- 1y flexible to allow it to yield considerably on violent contact with a hard object. At the same time the cleat body is sufliciently tough to avoid its breaking under essentially all conditions to which it is likely to be subjected during use and sufliciently resilient to cause it to resume its original shape rapidly after deformation as soon as the deforming force is removed. Such cleats provide adequate stability at all times for the foot of a wearer of a shoe to which they are attached and, because of their flexibility, toughness and resiliency, are much less likely than are hard rubber cleats to break or to cause injury to the body of an individual coming into violent contact with them or to tear clothing. Such cleats are, for convenience, sometimes referred to as semi-rigid cleats to distinguish them from rigid cleats made of metal, hard rubber and other essentially rigid, non-flexible materials. Because of their superior nonbreaking and safety features, the new semi-rigid cleats have proven very satisfactory in use.

It has now been found that, utilizing cleats having a semi-rigid body as just described, a superior means for securing the cleat separably to the sole of a shoe can be employed, the cleat body being held tightly on the sole during use but being detached easily from the sole or mounted thereon, when desired. Furthermore, utilizing the new securing means with which the present invention is concerned, the cleat body can be mounted on the shoe sole, or detached therefrom, quickly and without more than minor interruption of the activity of the individual. The advantages of being able to remove a cleat, or to exchange cleats, at will and without more than minor effort or delay are many. Should a cleat become damaged accidentally, it can be replaced quickly with a new one. Should the character of the terrain on which the cleated shoe is being used change, it is entirely feasible to change the entire set of cleats on the shoe to secure the best traction on the new terrain.

According to the present invention, a semi-rigid cleat is provided with an interior cavity opening through the base of the body of the cleat, the cavity being formed with at least a region of its walls removed from the base of the cleat over which the opposite walls of the cavity diverge from one another away from the base of the cleat. The cleat is secured to the sole of a shoe or boot by snapping it over a suitable stud projecting from the sole which has a size and an exterior configuration essentially identical with those of the wall of the cavity within the cleat at least over the region of divergent walls of the cavity. Thus the stud is provided with at least a region of its exterior surface over which its opposite surfaces diverge from one another away from the sole of the shoe in a manner such that, with the cleat body snapped over the stud and with its base in firm contact with the sole of the shoe, or with a thin metal plate which is often provided on the sole around the stud as will be described, the region of divergent walls of the cleat cavity surface engages firmly the region of divergent exterior surfaces of the stud. Because of the divergent character of the contacting walls of the stud and cleat cavity over the region, the cleat body is retained firmly seated on the sole in a manner such that it is practically impossible to remove it by a force exerted laterally on the cleat body. At the same time, however, it is possible and convenient to snap it over the stud by the exertion of a suitable force and to remove a seated cleat body from the stud by inserting a thin tool, e.g. a thin forked tool, between the base of the cleat body and the sole of the shoe, or metal plate, and prying the cleat body away from the sole. The material of which the cleat body is composed is sufficiently elastic to cause it to stretch and the cleat cavity adjacent the base of the cleat body to be enlarged temporari ly during these operations to permit passage through it of the section of the stud of greatest diameter. Once the cleat body has been seated on the stud, or removed therefrom, the cavity resumes its original shape.

Certain advantages of the invention are apparent from the accompanying drawing wherein, in the interest of clarity, certain features are shown on a somewhat exaggerated scale and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a football shoe equipped with cleats of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is an exploded side elevation, principally in section, of one modification of the cleat of the invention showing a semi-rigid cleat, a metal adapter and a threaded fitting secured in a shoe sole;

FIGURE 3 is an elevation, principally in section, of the modification of FIGURE 2 showing the adapter secured in the fitting and the cleat snapped into position on the stud of the adapter;

FIGURES 4, 5, 6 and 7 are illustrations of certain modifications of the adapter and cleat of the invention which are sometimes of advantage;

FIGURES 8, 9 and 10 illustrate still other modifications of the cleat of the invention in which a metal insert is molded into the body of the cleat around the cavity therein to assist in retaining the cleat on the stud;

FIGURE 11 is a plan view of a metal blank suitable for forming into the metal insert of FIGURE 10;

FIGURES 12, 13 and 14 are elevations, principally in section, of modifications of the cleat of the invention wherein the body of the cleat is provided with a metal tip;

FIGURE 15 is an elevation, principally in section, of a modification of the cleat of the invention wherein the tip of the cleat is reinforced with a metal insert completely enclosed within the body of the cleat;

FIGURE 16 is a side elevation, principally in section, of an elongated cleat of the invention secured on a shoe sole by more than one stud;

FIGURE 17 is a side elevation, principally in section, of a cleat of the invention wherein the outer sections of the body of the cleat are composed of an essentially inelastic material such as hard rubber, but which is provided with an insert of flexible material, such as flexible rubber, around the cavity to enable it to be snapped onto an adapter according to the method of the invention;

FIGURE 18 is a side elevation, partially in section, of a tool useful in mounting a cleat on, and in detaching it from, a stud; and

FIGURE 19 is a plan view taken along the line XlX-XIX of FIGURE 18.

Referring to FIGURE 1, there is illustrated schematically one widely used type of football shoe having a sole 21, a heel 22 and cleats 23 attached to the sole and heel. Football shoes ordinarily have five cleats on the sole forward of the instep and usually one or two cleats on the heel. Other types of shoes are often equipped with differing numbers and styles of cleats and it is to be understood that the invention contemplates such variations in usage of the herein described cleat.

In FIGURE 2 there is shown in schematic section a shoe sole which, for purposes of illustration, is shown as consisting of two sheets of leather, e.g. an inner sole 50 and an outer sole 24. A suitable internally threaded rivet or other suitable fitting 25 is inserted from the inside of the shoe through a closely fitting hole in the sole. The inner end of the rivet 25 is provided with a head sufficiently wide to prevent the rivet from being pulled outward through the sole under conditions of high stress. The inner sole is preferably counter sunk to receive the head of the rivet 25 to avoid irregularities on the inner surface of the inner sole. A suitable washer 26, having down-turned points 27 around its periphery and with a central bore slightly larger than the external diameter of the shaft of the rivet 25, can conveniently be placed on the outer surface of the sole concentric with the rivet 25 and pressed downward onto the sole to force the points 27 into the leather before the rivet is set so that the plate 26 is in firm, non-slipping surface contact with the leather. The outer hollow end of the rivet 25 is then turned outward and downward against the plate 26 as shown at 30, thus locking the rivet 25 and plate 26 securely to the sole.

An adapter, shown generally at 28 of FIGURE 2, is formed with an externally threaded shank 29 adapted to to engage the internal threads of the rivet 25. The adapter 23 is also provided with an encircling flange 31 at the upper end of the threaded shank which, when the adapter is screwed into the rivet 25, engages the outer turned down end 2% of the rivet. The adapter 28 is screwed tightly into the rivet 25, e.g. by way of a screw slot 32 formed in its upper end, or in any other suitable way. In certain instances it is entirely possible and satisfactory to eliminate the flange 31 entirely as illustrated in FIGURE 7.

The end section of the adapter 28 opposite the threaded shank 29 forms a stud 33 projecting outwardly from the shoe sole when the adapter is screwed into the rivet 25 just described. The section of the adapter forming the projecting stud 33 is, in the modification of FIGURE 2, formed as a conical section with its smallest diameter immediately adjacent the flange 31 and with its largest diameter farthest removed from the flange, the opposite surfaces of the stud diverging from one another over the region of the conical section away from the sole of the shoe. The outer end of the stud 33 can be cut off square or rounded as desired and is conveniently provided with a slot 32 to accommodate a screw driver as mentioned previously.

The cleat, 34 of FIGURE 2, is of any suitable exterior configuration with an essentially flat base. For purposes of illustration, the cleat is shown as being of generally conical shape with its outer end rounded smoothly. The cleat 34 is molded with an internal cavity 35 corresponding in shape and dimensions as closely as possible to the stud 33 of the adapter 28. There is thus a region of the Wall of the cavity 35 over which the opposite walls of the cavity diverge from one another away from the base of the cleat. The end of the cavity 35 adjacent the base of the cleat is enlarged to accommodate the flange 31 and the turned-over end 30 of the rivet 25 and still permit the base of the cleat to rest firmly on the plate 26 when the cleat is mounted on the stud 33, as will be described. The cleat 34 is formed of rubber or of a synthetic resinous semi-rigid, resilient material which is rigid enough to maintain essentially its configuration under conditions of hard usage, which is sufficiently abrasion-resistant to keep it from being worn down unduly by repeated contact with the terrain on which it is intended to be used, but which is sufficiently elastic and resilient to enable it to be placed with the opening in its base over the end of the stud 33 and forced over the stud until the base of the cleat is in surface contact with the plate 26, as is illustrated especially in FIGURE 3. With the cleat thus mounted on the stud, the divergent walls of the cavity 35 are in firm contact with the divergent surfaces of the stud 33 and the base of the cleat is in firm contact with the plate 26. The cleat body 34 is retained securely on the stud 33 because of the configuration of the stud and of the corresponding configuration of the cavity 35 in the cleat.

The degree of divergence, or slope, of the walls of the conical section of the stud 33 is, for best results, related, generally, to the elasticity of the material from which the body of the cleat 34 is constructed. When a material is used which has a relatively high degree of elasticity, the degree of divergence can be considerably greater than in the case of a cleat constructed of a material which stretches less readily. In general, the slope of the conical section of the stud 33 should be as great as possible while still allowing the cleat to be snapped over it without too great an effort and without damage to the cleat since, the greater the degree of divergence of the walls of the conical section of the stud, the more difiicult it is to remove the cleat 34 from it and the more securely the cleat is held in place by the stud. With the cleat 34 made from material which can be stretched only with difficulty, the stud exerts adequate holding power for the cleat when the diameter of its outer end is only slightly greater than its smallest diameter.

' As indicated previously, the cleat of the invention can be removed readily from the stud 33 by inserting a thin tool, such as a thin screw driver or forked tool, between the base of the cleat 34 and the plate 26 and prying the cleat away from the sole. Using this procedure the cleat can be unsnapped readily from the stud 33 and replaced with a new cleat 34 which is unworn or which is made from a material having physical characteristics, eg abrasion resistance, different from those of the cleat removed. It is, of course, understood that so long as the adapter 28 is not removed and replaced with a different one of which the stud portion 33 has different dimensions, the new cleat body used should stretch with essentially the same ease as that of the one removed and should, of course, be provided with a cavity essentially identical with the cavity in the cleat removed.

It is understood, of course, that the body of the cleat of the invention can be made with any desirable exterior contour and that the size and shape of the cavity in the cleat body can also be varied in essentially any desired manner provided only that it opens through the base of the body and has a configuration such that the opposite walls of a section of the cavity removed from the base of the cleat diverge from one another away from the base of the body. The stud of the adapter should in each instance be contoured and dimensioned to fill the cavity in the cleat as completely as possible so as to insure firm surface contact of the cleat over the entire surface of the stud. One such variation of the stud and, correspondingly, of the cleat cavity, is illustrated in FIGURE 4 wherein the stud is formed having a pair of conical sections 36 and 37, the opposite sides of the surfaces of each of which diverge from one another away from the sole of the shoe. Another modification is illustrated in FIGURE 5 wherein the surface of the tip 38 of the stud is essentially spherical and the surface of the section 39 is essentially a conical section with its opposite walls diverging from one another away from the sole of the shoe. The part of the wall of the spherical tip 38 which faces the sole of the shoe also consists of opposite surfaces which diverge from one another away from the sole of the shoe. Still another variation is illustrated in FIGURE 6 wherein the stud 41 is formed with its surface suitably curved in the planes of its longitudinal axis to provide its outer end with a section over which the opposite surfaces diverge in curved fashion from one another away from the sole of the shoe. A-nother variation is illustrated in FIGURE 7 wherein the adapter is not provided with a flange, such as the flange 31 of FIGURES 2 and 3, encircling it between the stud 40 and the threaded spur 29. I

The outer end of the stud illustrated in FIGURE 7 is formed with a series of shoulders 42 around its periphery, rather than with a slot in its end, to accommodate a wrench for seating the adapter in a threaded rivet in the shoe sole.

It is sometimes convenient and advisable, especially in the case of cleats which are to be subjected to extraordinarily hard usage, to provide a metallic insert molded in the cleat body which will engage and cooperate with the divergent surfaces of the stud and thus provide somewhat more secure holding of the cleat body on the stud than might otherwise be the case. One such modification is illustrated in FIGURE 8 wherein a split washer 43 is molded in the cleat in a position such that its inner surface encircles and is flush with the wall of the cleat cavity and forms a section thereof removed from the base of the cleat. The stud 45 is in this instance formed with a rounded enlarged outer end 44 which will spread the split washer 43 and pass through it when the cleat is snapped onto the stud. The split washer then assumes its original shape and its upper inner edge and the section of the cleat immediately above the washer engage the divergent surfaces of the rounded member 44 and retain the cleat body efiectively on the stud. The section of the stud 45 extending from the split washer 43 toward the base of the cleat body can be formed with a constant diameter or it can be formed as a conical section of the kind heretofore described.

In the modification of FIGURE 9 a split ring 46 of spring steel is molded in the body of the cleat so that it encircles the cleat cavity at a suitable distance from the base of the cleat. The inner diameter of the ring 46 is somewhat less than the diameter of the cavity in the region where the ring is located, so that it forms an annular ridge projecting into and encircling the cavity. The surface of the ridge opposite the base of the cleat thus forms a region over which the opposite walls of the cavity diverge from one another away from the base of the cleat. The stud is in this instance formed with an annular groove 47 adapted to accommodate the ring 46 with a snug fit so that when the outer end of the stud is forced through the ring the latter is spread and subsequently snaps into the groove 47, thus holding the cleat securely on the stud. The half surface of the groove 47 opposite the shoe sole forms a region over which the opposite surfaces of the stud, when the stud is secured to a shoe sole, diverge from one another away from the sole of the shoe. The section of the stud between the groove 47 and the base of the cleat can be cylindrical in shape or it can be formed with a conical section, the opposite surfaces of which diverge from one another away from the shoe sole, the cavity in the cleat body being formed accordingly.

In the modification illustrated in FIGURE 10 the stud 33 is formed with a configuration essentially the same as the stud of FIGURE 2. In this instance, however, a metal insert 48 is molded in the cleat body so that its inner surface forms a part of the surface of the outer end of the cavity and is adapted to encircle more or less completely and to clasp the outer end of the stud 33 when the cleat is snapped onto the stud. The metal insert 48 can be prepared by first cutting a flat blank from thin spring steel, as illustrated in FIGURE 11, which comprises a central section 49, which can be deformed readily in a die to give it the same configuration as the outer end of the stud, and a number of arms 51 projecting away from the central section 49. The insert is then formed from the blank by pressing it onto a mandrel having the same configuration and dimensions as the stud 33 so that the central section 49 is deformed to lie in surface-to-surface contact with the end of the mandrel and the arms 51 are bent so as to lie snugly along the sloping surface of the mandrel. The arms 51 of the blank can be of any suitable shape and the blank can comprise any suitable number of arms.

It is also sometimes desirable to provide the cleat body with a metal tip to reduce wear and to enable it to effect good traction on certain kinds of surfaces. Such a modification is illustrated in FIGURE 12 wherein the metal tip 52. is provided at the outer end of the cleat 53 and is secured to the end of the cleat by way of an axial projection 54, which preferably has an irregular surface to prevent the tip from being displaced easily, around which the resinous material of the cleat body is molded. Alternatively, the projection 54 can be threaded externally so as to engage a suitable internally threaded cavity formed in the outer end of the resinous body 53 during the molding thereof. The stud 55 can be similar to the stud 33 of FIGURE 2 or it can be formed with any other suitable configuration in accordance with the foregoing description.

In the modification of FIGURE 13 the metal tip 56 is formed similarly to the tip 52 of FIGURE 12 except 7 within the cavity wall. The tips of the arms 57 thus engage the surface of the stud 58 when the cleat body is snapped onto the stud and thus assist materially in holding the body on the cleat.

In the modification of FIGURE 14 the metal tip 59 is provided with projecting spurs 61 which are embedded in the resinous part 62 of the cleat body and which effectively retain the tip 59 in position. Although the spurs 61 do not contact the stud 63 when the cleat body is snapped over the stud, they do lie between its outer end and the exterior surface of the cleat body and thus exert considerable influence in retaining the cleat body on the stud.

In the modification of FIGURE there is illustrated a cupped insert 64 which can be molded in the cleat body 65 so that it is completely surrounded by the molded material and thus does not function as a metal tip for the cleat and does not actually contact the stud 66 when the cleat is snapped onto the stud. However, the cupped insert surrounds the outer end of the cavity in the body of the cleat and thus serves as an added reinforcement around the outer end of the stud 66 when the cleat is snapped onto the stud and assists materially in retaining the cleat on the stud. The upstanding wall of the cupped insert can be slitted at several places, if desired, to allow for a certain amount of spreading of the wall section when the cleat body is snapped onto or removed from the stud 66.

Although the invention has thus far been described with respect to a cleat of the general type illustrated in FIG- URE 1 which is of either circular or other non-elongated cross section, it is sometimes desirable to utilize a cleat which is considerably longer in one direction than in the other and which, when attached to a shoe sole, is in the form of a ridge extending along the sole. The invention readily encompasses the utilization of such elongated or ridge-like cleats as is illustrated in FIGURE 16 wherein the elongated cleat 67 is molded with a pair of cavities which, in this instance, are each entirely similar to the cavity 35 in the cleat of FIGURE 2.. One of the cavities is formed near each end of the body of the cleat 67. The shoe sole 68 is provided with a pair of internally threaded rivets 69 similar to the rivet of FIGURE 2, and two adapters each having a stud 71 entirely similar to the stud 33 are screwed into the rivets 69. A plate 72, similar to the plate 26 of FIGURE 2, is employed which is preferably large enough to seat the entire base of the cleat 67 and which is used in the assemblage in a manner entirely analogous with the plate 26 of FIGURE 2. When the cleat 67 is snapped over the two studs 71, it is held firmly and rigidly in place with no tendency for it to be dislodged or even disarranged under all conditions of normal usage.

Although the invention has been described thus far with respect to a cleat the body of which, except in some instances for a metal tip, is made entirely of a semi-rigid resilient material and which is sutficiently flexible to enable it to stretch enough to allow it to be snapped over the stud of the adapter, it is sometimes desirable to employ a cleat, the outer wearing surface of the body of which is made entirely of hard rubber, of a hard synthetic resinous substance or even of a metal, such as aluminum, which is so highly inelastic that, when the cleat body is made entirely of the substance, it will not stretch sufficiently to allow it to be snapped over an adapter stud having even a slight degree of divergence of its opposite surfaces away from the shoe sole. In FIGURE 17 there is illustrated a modification of the invention whereby a cleat body having an outer wearing surface formed entirely of a rigid, essentially unstretchable material, such as one of those just mentioned, can be employed and the cleat still snapped onto a stud of the kind described previously. According to the modification of FIGURE 17 a suitably shaped cleat comprising an outer section 75 of hard rubber or of a hard synthetic resinous substance or of a metal is molded or cast. The outer section 75 is formed with a suitable cavity opening through the base of the cleat which is considerably larger than the stud 81. The cavity is preferably lined, especially in the case of a hard rubber or a hard synthetic resinous outer section, with a thin metal liner 76 which can be employed as a metal insert during molding or casting. If the cleat material 75 is itself a metal or a substance having adequate strength properties, the metal liner 76 can be omitted, if desired. The cavity contains a molded-in-place body 77 of semirigid, resilient material, such as flexible rubber, the body 77 being inside the liner 76 when such a liner is employed. The cavity in the outer section 75 is preferably formed with a cross section removed from the base of the cleat body greater than the opening of the cavity through the base to avoid easy withdrawal of the liner 76 or the body of resilient material 77.

A second insert 78, e.g. of brass or other suitable metal, is molded in the resilient body 77 and is shaped and contoured interiorly to provide a cavity opening through the base of the cleat which fits as snugly as possible the outer surface of a suitable stud. In certain instances it is possible to omit the second metal liner 78 and thus form the stud-engaging cavity directly in the body of semi-solid resilient material 77, especially when the body 77 comprises a relatively large proportion of the entire cleat body. In the illustration of FIGURE 17 the stud is formed with an enlargement 79 at its outer end which may be of any suitable shape, e.g. oblate spheroidal or spherical, and the section 81 of the stud extending between the enlargement 79 and flange 31 is in the form of a cylinder of essentially constant diameter. It will be noted that, in the illustration of FIGURE 17, the section of the enlargement 79 facing the flange 31 forms a section of the stud in which the opposite surfaces diverge from one another away from the shoe sole. The side wall of the inner insert 73 can be slitted longitudinally to allow for the necessary spreading when the cleat body is snapped over the stud. Because of the elasticity of the material of which the part 77 of the cleat body lying between the inserts 78 and 76 is composed, it can be compressed to allow the enlarged end 79 of the stud to enter into the correspondingly shaped part of the cavity within the insert 78 when the cleat is snapped onto the stud and to allow for its withdrawal from the cavity when the cleat is removed from the stud. The thickness of the layer of resilient material 77 surrounding the inner insert 78 together with the degree of its resiliency and the actual configuration of the stud should be related to one another so that the cleat body can be snapped onto the stud without the necessity of the hard material surrounding the outer insert 76 being stressed unduly. The layer of semirigid resilient material 77 which separates the two inserts in the region adjacent the extreme end of the stud need, however, be no thicker than desirable or convenient and, in fact, it is convenient for the two inserts to contact one another and to be welded or soldered together over a small area at their centers.

The cleat of FIGURE 17 can be made in a number of ways. Thus, the two inserts 76 and 78 can be formed and assembled, preferably in a suitable mold, and the body of semi-rigid resilient material 77 then molded between them. The assemblage thus formed can then be utilized as an insert in the molding of the inelastic outer section 75 around it. Alternatively, the inelastic material can be molded first around the insert 76 and in a subsequent molding operation the more resilient material 77 can be molded inside the outer insert 76 and the inner insert 77 incorporated at this time. Of course, if the molding cycle of the inelastic material 75 and of the more resilient material forming the body 77 can be the same, it is often more convenient to provide a suitable mold and to complete the entire molding operation in one cycle.

It has been mentioned previously that the cleat described herein can be mounted on the stud and demounted therefrom conveniently using a simple tool. Although any suitable tool can be employed, a simple and convenient tool is shown in FIGURES 18 and 19 of the drawing. The tool illustrated comprises a metal strip 82, one end of which 83, is curved out of the plane of the main part of the strip for a suitable distance. The turned-up end of the strip is provided with a longitudinal slot 84 which is at least wide enough to permit the stud and flange of the adapter, eg. the stud 3'3 and the flange 31 of FIGURE 2, to pass through it readily. The prongs 85 on each side of the slot 84 are tapered in thickness toward their ends so that, with the tool grasped in the hand at its end opposite the slot 84, the prongs 85 can be forced between the base of the cleat and the metal plate, e.g. the plate 26, and the cleat pried away from the plate until it disengages the stud.

The end of the tool of FIGURES l8 and 19 opposite the slot 84 is conveniently provided with a cleat holder 86 which is in the form of a cylindrical member secured to the end of the strip 82 by suitable screws 87. The cleat holder 86 is formed with a cavity 88 which is contoured to fit approximately the outer surface of a cleat with which the tool is to be used. This modification of the tool is convenient for facilitating the mounting of a cleat on a stud when the adapter of which the stud is a part is secured to a shoe sole. This operation can be effected readily by placing the tool on the floor or the ground with the open larger end of the cavity 88 facing upward. A cleat is then placed base upward in the cavity 88 and the stud projecting from the shoe sole is then forced into the cavity in the cleat by the wearer of the shoe merely placing the end of the stud in the cleat cavity opening and bearing his weight downward on the shoe. Under such conditions the cleat snaps into firm engagement with the stud. One modification of the tool just described contemplates a tool with a plurality of cleat-holding cavities spaced to correspond precisely with the spacing of the studs on the shoe sole so that an entire set of cleats can be mounted on the shoe at one time.

We claim:

1. In a cleat assembly for a shoe, the combination including: a cleat comprising a semi-rigid resilient material; a cavity within the cleat open through the base thereof having a region wherein opposite walls of the cavity diverge from one another away from the base of the cleat; a metal reinforcing insert in the cleat adjacent the end of the cavity removed from the base of the cleat; and a stud adapted to be secured on a shoe sole, the exterior configuration of the stud being essentially identical with the wall of the cavity whereby, with the stud secured on a shoe sole, the cleat can be snapped onto the stud to assume a seated position thereon in which its base is in surface contact with the sole around the stud and the cavity wall is in tight surface contact with essentially the entire surface of the stud and can, subsequently, be re moved from its seated position on the stud, a part of the surface of the metal reinforcing insert forming a part of the surface of the cavity and engaging the divergent surfaces of the stud when the cleat is seated thereon.

2. In a cleat assembly for a shoe, the combination including: a cleat comprising an exterior body of a hard essentially nonelastic material; a cavity within the body of hard essentially nonelastic material opening through the base of the cleat; a body of semi rigid resilient material located in the cavity in the hard body; a cavity within the body of semi-rigid resilient material opening through the base of the cleat having a region wherein opposite walls of the cavity diverge from one another away from the base of the cleat; and a stud adapted to be secured on a shoe sole, the exterior configuration of the stud being essentially identical with the wall of the cavity in the body of semi-rigid resilient material whereby, with the stud secured on a shoe sole, the cleat can be snapped onto the stud to assume a seated position thereon in which its base is in essentially surface con-tact with the sole around the stud and the wall of the cavity in the body of semi-rigid resilient material is in tight surface contact with essentially the entire surface of the stud and can, subsequently, be removed from its seated position on the stud, all while avoiding injurious stressing of the hard exterior body.

3. The combination as claimed in claim 2 wherein the cavity in the exterior hard body containing the body of semi-rigid resilient material has a cross section removed from the base of the cleat greater than its opening through the base of the cleat.

4. A combination as claimed in claim 2 wherein a metal liner is positioned in the cavity in the exterior body of hard essentially inelastic material between the body of hard material and the body of semi-rigid resilient material.

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